1
as in wicked
tending to or exhibiting reckless playfulness
the children had been so mischievous that we had to pay the babysitter extra and then clean up the mess
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in naughty
engaging in or marked by childish misbehavior
punished for their mischievous tricks on the neighbors
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in dangerous
causing or capable of causing harm
mischievous gossip that ruined a good teacher's reputation
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mischievous
Like tapping into that mischievous kid in me.
—
Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 18 May 2026
There on the screen, staring back at me, are two gigantic black eyes and a mischievous smile stitched on a massive, crocheted head — features of the mysterious, endlessly cheeky mask that has become Chuyin’s signature.
—Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2026
Elevated rooms—some villas sit on stilts above the jungle floor, giving full treehouse vibes—offer total immersion within the thick, humid jungle, underscored by wild birds, hypnotic cicadas, and the swing of mischievous monkeys.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 May 2026
Turner often carried a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
—David Folkenflik, NPR, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for mischievous
Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 18 May 2026
There on the screen, staring back at me, are two gigantic black eyes and a mischievous smile stitched on a massive, crocheted head — features of the mysterious, endlessly cheeky mask that has become Chuyin’s signature.
—Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2026
Elevated rooms—some villas sit on stilts above the jungle floor, giving full treehouse vibes—offer total immersion within the thick, humid jungle, underscored by wild birds, hypnotic cicadas, and the swing of mischievous monkeys.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 May 2026
Turner often carried a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
—David Folkenflik, NPR, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for mischievous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mischievous
Adjective
-
Jones puts an exclamation point on the music — making the audience the roadies to Lestat’s wicked showman ways.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
3 June 2026
-
Every day brought a thousand little dramas, dropped lines and brilliant recoveries, missing props and onstage farts, the extramarital affair that Proteus and Julia had commenced, the gay actor’s wicked commentary on it, followed by bad behavior in bars.—
Jonathan Franzen,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
The play was naughty stuff in 1925, when the show, starring Tallulah Bankhead, got banned.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
15 May 2026
-
But theatergoers around me couldn’t seem to get enough, no matter how repetitive the naughty humor became.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
Yet oil futures have not skyrocketed to the dangerous levels forecasters feared — at least not yet.—
Matt Egan,
CNN Money,
9 June 2026
-
Financial watchdogs view telecoms acting as dangerous regulatory arbitrage, fearing that seamless digital wallets are a backdoor for capital flight.—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
Former keepers who visited on May 13 said the 2-year-old has bonded with surrogate mother Fredrika and developed a playful, mischievous personality.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 June 2026
-
Travis came up with the playful name, which was inspired by the city's cold winters.—
Jori Parys,
CBS News,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
Especially defensively, where the Sparks had seemingly been getting worse.—
Marisa Ingemi,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
-
The festival begins next week for the World Cup, but part of Poplar Drive is already closed, and some neighbors say the closure is making traffic in the area even worse.—
Ryan Hughes,
CBS News,
7 June 2026
Adjective
-
In the layer of the upper atmosphere called the stratosphere, the gas creates a protective layer that shields Earthlings from harmful ultraviolet rays.—
Jeanna Bryner,
Scientific American,
8 June 2026
-
The data center near Quindaro doesn’t have the capacity to be as harmful as the center out west, and the impacts of having a data center in Quindaro wouldn’t equate to the same health risks as having a coal plant did, Gorman said.—
Sofi Zeman
June 8,
Kansas City Star,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
When Pirog played a flashy line, which was often, Vile let out a cackle, an impish, cowpoke whoopee ti-yi-yo.—
Nick Paumgarten,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
-
The impish half-smile that irritates opponents eventually returns to his face, though.—
Chris Smith,
Vanity Fair,
11 May 2026
Adjective
-
DeVries also feels that seniors should not hesitate to file police reports to document adverse incidents.—
Karie Angell Luc,
Chicago Tribune,
5 June 2026
-
The drug is designed to rapidly block platelets from clumping and restricting blood flow, lessening the adverse outcomes of a heart attack.—
Justin Zacks,
CNBC,
4 June 2026
Video
'Mispronunciations' That May Be Fine
'Mischievous,' 'nuclear,' and other words to pronounce with caution.
Cite this Entry
“Mischievous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mischievous. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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